Once revered as the “mother of journalism,” the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has today reduced itself to a tired relic of colonial arrogance. Far from upholding any journalistic integrity, it has turned into a propaganda tool relentlessly targeting India, particularly since India’s economic and strategic ascent under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Let’s call it for what it is: the BBC’s anti-India bias is neither new nor surprising. It is the natural outcome of a colonial mindset that never accepted the idea of a strong, independent India. When the British left India after plundering it for centuries, they left behind not just poverty and partition, but also their ideological agents — Nehruvian elites who continued the divisive “divide and rule” culture that kept India fractured for decades. BBC, meanwhile, kept portraying India as a land of snake charmers, cobblers, and communal riots, with the majority of Hindus always painted as the villains. Even at home, in the 1980s, the BBC was treated as the ultimate “gospel of truth.” Rajiv Gandhi famously waited for BBC confirmation before believing the news of his mother Indira Gandhi’s assassination. That blind faith is long gone. Today, a vibrant, confident India sees through the BBC’s agenda — an agenda that increasingly smells of desperation as India asserts itself economically, militarily, and diplomatically. The BBC’s reportage in recent years is a case study in colonial hangover and selective outrage. Whether it’s Kashmir, Assam, or Manipur, the BBC deliberately misrepresents facts, labels India’s internal matters as “human rights crises,” and conveniently ignores constitutional realities. Even after the abrogation of Article 370 — a move supported by India’s Parliament and welcomed across the country — the BBC continued calling Jammu and Kashmir “Indian-administered.” It shamelessly circulated doctored videos claiming widespread protests in the Valley, which forensic analysis later exposed as fake. This is not journalism. This is propaganda.
Ironically, both Congress and the BJP governments have, at different times, accused the BBC of acting as a foreign agent. Indira Gandhi called it the mouthpiece of Cold War interests; today, the Modi government faces the same beast, albeit more vicious. The difference? This time, New Delhi is not playing nice. The Modi government has rightly tightened the screws: foreign journalists must seek prior permission to report from sensitive areas like Assam and Kashmir. Restrictions are not arbitrary — they are necessary to ensure national security and prevent foreign media from scripting fake narratives. Between May 2018 and January 2019, only two foreign journalists were granted access to Kashmir — a clear message that India is no longer an open playground for Western biases. Further, India’s own media landscape has evolved. Channels like Republic TV, Times Now, and India Today now hold their own, vigorously defending India’s interests when foreign outlets try to smear them. Social media has empowered millions of Indians to call out biased reporting in real-time. India doesn’t need foreign validation anymore — certainly not from a discredited colonial-era institution that cannot even manage its scandals at home. BBC’s troubles don’t end with fake news. Let’s not forget the recent tax evasion investigations against its India operations. While the BBC lectures India on “freedom of the press,” it has no answer when caught evading Indian tax laws. Hypocrisy, it seems, is their only remaining export. So here’s the real question: do we even need the BBC anymore? Should we allow institutions that work against India’s national interests a free hand under the pretense of press freedom? Freedom of the press is not a license to lie, distort, and destabilize. It’s time India considers banning the BBC, or at least severely restricting its operations, just as it would any other hostile foreign entity. If not a total ban, then allow access only during international summits or high-profile state visits. That too, under tight scrutiny. A rising India owes the BBC nothing — except perhaps a farewell wave as it shows them the door.